Not an impressive list for a study that claims that municipal networks have failed almost every time they have been attempted. Not impressive, and apparently not that accurate either.
Wi-Fi Networking News (WNN) responded with a deployment-by-deployment rebuttal to the IPI study with its own "We Told You D'oh: Latest Specious Thinktank Report." WNN's Glenn Fleishman lambasts IPI senior fellow Barry Aarons for misstating the facts in his study.
"Aarons, formerly associated with major telecoms and who works as industry consultant, appears to be trying to forestall putting stimulus broadband dollars into municipal hands," Fleishman says. "I tend to agree: I'd rather see non-profits and local telecom groups use existing expertise and knowledge of underserved audiences to built out infrastructure. Cities, towns, and counties likely have a role in establishing and leasing rights of way and facilitating access for others putting services in.
"However, I have to take issue with the facts. There are essentially
no municipal Wi-Fi networks of the type that Aarons wants to use as a
strawman. Over and over, this report cites private efforts, and
misstates facts."
Fleishman then procedes to go through each deployment in the study, correcting Aarons' blunders, noting that only the Lompoc deployment merits the criticism. However, Lompoc is a small-time project and is virtually one of a kind. The IPI report, he says, is deceptive in its argument.
